Road to Rio: 74 days to go

Just 74 days remain until this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, but there is still plenty keeping our Team GB athletes busy.

Whether that is attempting to qualify or fine-tuning preparations for those already selected, no-one is resting on their laurels.

Each Monday we will look back at what our athletes have been getting up to during the last week and who to keep an eye on over the coming seven days.

The week that was

TABLE TENNIS

Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford – it’s time to book yourselves a flight to Rio!

The table tennis duo – who both represented Team GB at London 2012 – became athletes no.62 and no.63 across seven sports to be selected for the Team GB squad at the Olympic Games in less than three months’ time.

With an astonishing 22 medals banked, more than any other nation, at the European Aquatics Championships last week, it’s fair to say Great Britain’s swimmers are looking Rio ready.

Two golds, two silvers and a bronze were won in Sunday’s final session at the London Aquatics Centre to round off the week in style as a vociferous home crowd roared their heroes to consistent success.

Scotland had never even reached the Cup final at a World Seven Series event, let alone lifted the trophy, but they triumphed at the London Sevens in style at Twickenham as a remarkable late comeback saw them down South Africa 27-26 in a thrilling final.

With Team GB’s rugby sevens side at Rio set to be made up of Scotland, Wales and England players – the fact that Wales won the Bowl while England beat overall Series winners Fiji at Rugby HQ bodes incredibly well.

Bianca Walkden now wants to fill the Olympic-sized hole in her medal collection, Jade Jones claims she is on track to defend her title in Rio while a star of the future stunned the continent – the European Taekwondo Championships provided quite the drama.

Walkden is now reigning European and World champion after success in the +73kg category in Montreux, Jones won a first -57kg European title at the fourth time of asking while 17-year-old Lauren Williams took -67kg gold in just her second competition of the season.

The week ahead

TENNIS

Having won a grass-court Grand Slam and a hard-court Grand Slam, clay is the only surface missing from Andy Murray’s CV but that could all change at this week’s French Open.

Murray isn’t the only potentially Rio-bound Brit in action at Roland Garros though with the in-form Johanna Konta and always-dangerous Heather Watson competing in the women’s draw.

It’s crunch time for Savannah Marshall as the middleweight must make the semi-finals of the Women’s Boxing World Championships in Kazakhstan to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio.

She won gold back in 2012 to become Team GB’s first-ever female world champion and will be looking to replicate those performances.

GYMNASTICS

Max Whitlock has been withdrawn from the GB squad for this week’s artistic gymnastics European Championships in Bern but a strong men’s squad will still be in Switzerland as Nile Wilson, Kristian Thomas, Louis Smith, Dan Purvis and Courtney Tulloch prepare to do battle with the rest of Europe.

Really gutted to withdraw from the Europeans, I have to look at the bigger picture. Massive good luck to the team 🇬🇧 #TEAMGB

Three British modern pentathletes have already qualified quota spots for Rio 2016 but the battle for selection is heating up – meaning this week’s World Championships in Moscow are critical.

London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray headlines a strong squad which includes the likes of Freyja Prentice and Kate French on the women’s side and Jamie Cooke on the men’s.

BMX

Liam Phillips has been one of the form BMX riders of the past two years and the 27-year-old will look to win the World Championship title for a second time this week, following his triumph in New Zealand in 2013, as he heads to Medellin, Colombia.

ARCHERY

There is nothing more special competing in front of your home fans as Team GB’s archers will find out at the European Archery Championships in Nottingham this week.

Triple Olympian Larry Godfrey is one of the squad competing as the Rio Olympic Games loom ever larger.